Skybound Chess
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Intermediate · 10 lessons

Checkmate Patterns

Ten mating pictures worth knowing on sight — the epaulette and Boden's mates, Damiano's and the h7 mate, Réti's and the Opera mate, and the two great queen sacrifices, Légal's and Philidor's Legacy.

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  1. 1Epaulette mateStart hereA king wedged between its own two rooks has no flight squares — a queen on the file finishes it.→
  2. 2Damiano's mateA pawn on f6 shields a queen on g7 — and the queen covers every square around the king.→
  3. 3Boden's mateTwo bishops on crossing diagonals catch a king that its own rook and pawn have walled in.→
  4. 4Réti's mateA rook mates a king in the centre when the king's own pieces block its retreat and a bishop cuts the rest.→
  5. 5The Opera mateA rook checks on the back rank, a bishop guards it and covers the flight — Morphy's finish at the opera.→
  6. 6Queen and bishop mateThe queen mates next to the king while a bishop on the long diagonal protects her.→
  7. 7The h7 mateQueen to h7, guarded by a knight on g5 — the finish of countless kingside attacks.→
  8. 8Swallowtail mateThe queen mates in front of a centralised king whose two back squares are plugged by its own pieces.→
  9. 9Légal's mateGive up the queen for a mating net of two minor pieces — a 250-year-old trap that still catches people.→
  10. 10Philidor's LegacyThe smothered mate combination: knight check, queen sacrifice, and the king is smothered by its own pieces.→